Regionalism and
the widening of I-71

In 1998, an ODOT proposal to rebuild I-71 with three lanes sparked a heated county vs. county battle about the role of highway investments in draining tax base from older communities. The five-county regional transportation planning body, NOACA (the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency), finally approved a carefully-crafted compromise, agreeing that a full-depth shoulder would be added to allow for maintenance of two travel lanes at all times (i.e. during construction), but that this new pavement would not be used for daily travel.

Earlier this year, however, a state legislator slipped a provision into ODOTs budget requiring it to re-stripe the shoulder as a third lane for everyday use. Cuyahoga County and City of Cleveland officials at first cried foul, but with the need for state funding on major Cleveland projects like the Innerbelt and Lakefront Boulevard, they withdrew their opposition, allowing the change to be approved.

Despite proponents rhetoric about the need for rush hour congestion relief in the I-71 corridor, adding lanes in Medina alone will have little lasting effect. Opponents of the 1998 widening proposal noted that the real cause of backups has always been short stretches of two-lane roadway at I-480 and at the Innerbelt Metro curve. Five years later, the Innerbelt changes are finally being planned, but the state has yet to even schedule a study of the I-480 bottleneck near Hopkins Airport. ODOT has again promised to make this study a priority, but the fix will be extremely costly and many years away.

One troubling aspect of the I-71 widening was the regionalism rhetoric used by some NOACA board members. It was suggested that intra-regional disagreements could threaten Northeast Ohios national reputation for just-in-time delivery and efficient freight movement and thus impact our regional economy. But those arguments failed to acknowledge that I-71 widening will have unintended impacts on land use and the regional economy.

Highway widenings facilitate the creation of new interchanges, followed by speculative construction of duplicative office, retail and residential space. When that happens in a region without substantial population growth, the new construction simply shifts the regions tax base from one local area to another without adding overall value. We pay for the cost of the highway now and later through losses to the urban core and fertile farmland.

In order to realize true regionalism, ODOT must collaborate with other state agencies and local governments to minimize speculative land development incentives at Ohios metropolitan fringes. This job cant be left to existing regional bodies, such as NOACA, which do not have authority to create a regional development vision among hundreds of local governments governments that each have their own elected leaders and land-use authority and who are actively competing with each other for tax base.

Few would deny that truck traffic on I-71 is increasing and that a third lane will improve safety. However, the additional capacity created by that lane will eliminate barriers to new interchange construction. While perhaps unintended, it seems inevitable that this change will set off yet another round of suburban sprawl.

 

Back to top

EcoCity Cleveland
3500 Lorain Avenue, Suite 301, Cleveland OH 44113
Cuyahoga Bioregion
(216) 961-5020
www.ecocitycleveland.org
Copyright 2002-2003

Back to main Citizens' Transporation planning

More on I-71 widening impacts
Over-stored: Regional retail study


I-71 under constuction: Transportation investments and regional land-use patterns are inextricably linked.

 

go to home page Togel Online Situs Togel Terpercaya daftar 10 nama situs togel terpercaya situs bo togel 5 bandar togel togel178 pedetogel sabatoto togel158 pragmatic178 novaslot88 Situs Togel Terpercaya Togel178 Togel279 Toto Macau Situs Togel Bandar Togel Agen Togel Bo Togel Daftar Togel Togel279 Toto Macau Toto Togel Sabatoto Sabatoto Sabatoto Sabatoto Sabatoto Sabatoto Sabatoto Togel279 Togel Online Slot88 Situs Togel Prize 123 Bo Togel Terpercaya Togel Online Daftar Akun Togel Resmi Toto Macau Toto Togel Situs Togel Terpercaya Situs Togel Via Pulsa Tanpa Potongan Daftar Togel Via Pulsa Tanpa Potongan Togel BBFS 10 Digit Situs Togel Bonus New Member Situs Togel Togel Pulsa Situs Togel Daftar Situs Togel Situs Togel Terpercaya Situs Judi Togel Slot Olympus Toto Togel Slot 4D Toto Slot 4D BO Togel Terpercaya Slot Mahjong Bet 200 Slot Nuke Gaming BO Togel Hadiah 2D 200rb BO Togel Hadiah 2D 100rb BO Togel 4D Daftar Akun Togel Resmi Togel Gopay Toto Togel 4D Bandar Togel Togel Deposit Linkaja Togel Terpercaya Situs Togel Bri Online 24 Jam Situs Bandar Togel Situs Agen Togel Situs BO Togel Situs Togel Resmi Toto Bandar Judi Togel Daftar Bandar Togel Situs Togel Diskon Daftar Togel Toto Situs Togel Prize 123 Situs Togel Resmi WLA 5 bandar Togel Togel IDN APK Togel Togel Dana Togel Ovo Link Slot Gacor Group BO Togel Situs Judi Togel Online24jam Terpercaya Togel Bebas Invest Slot Anti Rungkat Dadu Sicbo Toto Togel Togel Bet 100 Aplikasi Togel Togel Dana Bo Togel Toto Slot togel dana ovo gopay linkaja Togel Online 10 situs togel terpercaya daftar akun togel resmi Pasaran Togel Toto Togel Toto Macau situs judi togel terbaik dan terpercaya no 1 Bo Togel Hadiah 2D 100rb Togel Tepercaya Bo Togel Terpercaya Situs Bandar Togel agen togel terpercaya bandar togel terpercaya agen togel terpercaya daftar akun togel resmi situs togel dan slot 10 situs togel terpercaya Situs Togel Terpercaya togel online Situs Bo Togel BBFS 10 Digit Kumpulan Situs Togel Link Alternatif Togel Toto situs togel terpercaya prize 123 link alternatif togel terpercaya Situs Togel Bet 100 Perak Daftar Situs Togel Via Dana slot luar negeri Bo Togel Hadiah 2D 200rb Togel Resmi Bandar Togel 4D Aplikasi Togel Situs Togel Deposit Via Ovo Bandar Togel Terbaik situs togel bri online 24 jam Situs Togel Terpercaya Kumpulan Situs Togel Terpercaya Situs Togel Terpercaya Situs Togel Bandar Togel Terbesar Situs Togel Prize 123 Situs Togel Terpercaya Daftar Agen Togel Resmi Aplikasi Togel Terpercaya Situs Togel Terbesar Agen Togel Terpercaya Rekomendasi Bo Togel Terpercaya Togel Resmi WLA Situs Togel Deposit 10rb 10 Situs Togel Terpercaya Togel Bbfs Situs Togel Bet 100 Perak Situs Togel 4D 5 bandar togel terpercaya situs togel 8 situs togel terpercaya 5 bandar togel slot demo mahjong aplikasi togel link togel group situs togel situs togel terpercaya judi togel bo togel hadiah 2d 100rb toto macau aplikasi togel bo togel bolak balik bandar togel daftar akun togel resmi togel dana togel pasaran toto togel situs bandar togel BO TOGEL situs togel resmi bo togel terpercaya Slot Luar Negeri bo togel hadiah 2d 200rb Bo Togel Hadiah 2d 100rb bo togel bo togel bolak balik acak dibayar bo togel resmi Dadu Sicbo Online 10 situs togel terbesar situs toto togel 10 situs togel terpercaya daftar akun togel resmi slot demo pragmatic situs judi togel terbaik dan terpercaya no 1 demo slot pg soft pedetogel togel178 togel279 togel158 sabatoto novaslot88 pragmatic178 toto macau roulette online Casino Live slot kamboja togel dana togel bbfs 10 digit togel bebas invest togel e-wallet togel pasaran togel dan slot bandar togel toto macau toto macau resmi toto togel 4d togel dana toto macau 4d Toto Slot agen togel toto togel togel dana cara membuat akun togel di hp android cara pasang togel togel diskon terbesar togel luar negeri togel prize slot nuke gaming toto macau Situs Togel Terpercaya Link Togel Terpercaya Daftar Togel Slot Olympus Slot PG Soft Bandar Togel Hadiah 4D 10 Juta Terpercaya Toto Macau Toto Togel Bandar Togel Terpercaya Toto Macau Togel 4D Situs Togel Via Dana Rekomendasi Togel Terpercaya Daftar Bandar Togel Togel Resmi Terpercaya Situs Togel Bayaran Tertinggi Kumpulan Situs Togel Terpercaya Situs Togel Bet 100 Perak Rekomendasi Togel Terpercaya Situs Togel Bet 100 Perak Situs Togel Terlengkap Judi Togel Online Slot Luar Negeri Toto Macau Togel Via Pulsa Togel Online situs togel bo togel judi togel aplikasi togel bo togel hadiah 2d 100rb situs bandar togel Toto Togel 10 Situs Togel Terpercaya Togel Via Dana Toto Macau Togel Online Toto Togel